Solder may be removed from soldered joints, for repair of electronic circuitry and other substrate surfaces, such as found in circuit boards or electronic components through the use of solder wicks, which are effective in withdrawing molten solder from the joint or surface under repair or undergoing other treatment. Typically, the solder to be removed is heated to its melting temperature, then withdrawn from the surface by capillary transport through the use of a so-called solder wick which is coated with a desoldering flux. Alternatively, an unfluxed wick may be employed with a flux being separately applied to the solder removal site as the heated solder wick is brought into contact with the solder.
Desoldering wicks are available in various configurations. They may be in the form of metal strands of copper, which are twisted together in a braid formed of a large number of individual strands. The wicks may be free of flux or they may be coated with a flux such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,575 to Spirig. Desoldering wicks may also take the form of metal foils, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,838 to Jimarez. Other soldering wicks may take the form of metal strands woven in the form of various meshes or fabrics of various configurations, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,941 to Kent.